1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic percussion instrument including an impact sensor which converts vibration of a head being struck with a beater into an electric signal so as to generate an electronic musical sound.
The present application claims priority on Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-49039 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-47221, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally-known electronic percussion instruments are designed to generate an electronic musical sound based on an electric signal output from an impact sensor which detects vibration of a head being struck with a beater. Patent Literature Document 1 (PLT1) discloses an electronic percussion instrument serving as an electronic bass drum with a circular head, made of an elastic material, whose periphery is engaged with a frame. An impact sensor is attached to the back of a strike area corresponding to the center of a head via a center cushion with an outer periphery encompassed by a ring-shaped damper cushion.
A drum body is supported by a stand (i.e. a riser and legs) which is placed on the floor. The head of a drum body is supported by a cylindrically-shaped shell via a rim cover and fixed to a ring-shaped frame and a circular frame relative to a shell. The cylindrical shell and the rim cover are combined with a ring-shaped hoop to form a cover which is used to externally cover the periphery of the head. The cover which is effective in an exterior design is used to protect the head of an electronic percussion instrument.
In the foregoing electronic percussion instrument, the head is normally fixed to the cylindrical shell serving as part of the cover, wherein a vibration occurring on the head being struck with a beater is directly transmitted to the shell so as to amplify sound, thus causing sound-box reverberations (i.e. a noise which occurs due to reverberation of the shell interlocked with the head being vibrated for some time). A sound-box reverberation sound is generated together with an electronic musical sound which is electronically generated based on an electric signal of an impact sensor detecting an impact applied to the head of an electronic percussion instrument. The sound-box reverberations may cause a noise which is offensive to human's ears. Additionally it may affect noiselessness of an electronic percussion instrument, thus degrading sound quality.
In this connection, it is not essential for an electronic percussion instrument to arrange a cover which is used to externally cover a pad member including a head. This is because an electronic percussion instrument implements a sound-generating function via an impact sensor which is used to detect an impact on the head being struck with a beater, thus generating an electric signal serving as an electronic musical sound. However, the cover has advantageous effects such as a function to protect the head and a function to provide an exterior design resembling an acoustic drum set.